Past Event

WHO

Sammy Hagar and The Wabos.

NOTES

Show 07:00PM.

This show was part of the Heavyweight Champs of Rock 'N Roll Tour with David Lee Roth.

David Lee Roth Opened

A group of us -- musicians all -- flew from Juneau, Alaska to see Sammy at the Gorge and we weren't disappointed! Sammy & The Waboritas were rock -n- roll par excellance and well worth the trip! The amazing backdrop of the Gorge Amphitheater was just icing on the cake.

The featurette on Sammy was great and primed the audience while the stage crew finished swapping sets -- which included real-time video and media on the big screen, and two bleachers [rear stage left & right] filled with 'the chosen ones' when the show got underway.

Sammy, being the quintessential frontman and charismatic personality he is, was better than ever and his voice is amazing live. In addition, we were all entertained with his scantily clad cocktail waitresses and giant exploding tequila props, he even managed to get fondled by one of the 'chosen ones', sex yet to be determined. Be afraid! The set list was great, spanning Sammy's career to date, and The Waboritas -- especially Vic -- did an awesome job performing it. Honor is due.

The caveat here is that I found myself hoping Dave -- who opened -- would finish his set sometime sooner than later, mainly because he doesn't seem to know what to do on-stage anymore. Add to that his diminishing physical & vocal ability (which I expected) and needless to say there were more than few disappointed fans. His magnanimous personality is gone and we're now left with Vegas Dave (or is it Seattle?) - I was embarrassed for him.

Dave's band was pretty good and they really nailed the back-up vocals. The drummer was excellent and Brian Young did a pretty good job on guitar, except he should learn how to play eruption before he attempts it again -- perhaps it was an off night for him, but it was awful. Sorry Brian. It was nice to hear the old Van Halen cranking out of the P.A. though.

The bottom line: even if you have to travel 1,000 miles to see them, Sammy Hagar & The Waboritas will make it worth your while.

Thanks to Ward F. W. for this review!

ADDITIONAL REVIEW

What can I say, the concert was awesome. The facts are Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth are true classic rockers. The Gorge Amphitheatre is the ultimate concert experience. Sammy played his classics, and Dave performed classic Van Halen greats. It's great to see two classic rockers still rocking. Let the Rock and Roll continue!

Thanks to Everhart for this review!

ADDITIONAL REVIEW

As expected, another great show from Sammy!! Dave did a good job, but at times there music seemed 'a bit out of sink'.
Being a professional musician myself, I noticed small train wrecks along the way. Though I thought Brain Young (Dave's guitar player)
was really good! I heard Bart Walsh a couple of years ago (who was great) but Brian seems even better!

As for Sammy, he just has the ability to capture his audience like no other entertainer. His energy level is incredible and his down to earth style is a pleasant change from Diamond Dave's 'I'm a rock star'. Dave also kept saying, it great here in Seattle and now were rock'n Seattle. Seattle? Like Sammy said loudly, "someone needs to tell Roth that Seattle is 150 miles away! Were in Washington, George Washington".

Excellent job for both, but Sammy is still the undisputed Heavyweight champ!

Thanks to Bobby Bach for this review!

ADDITIONAL REVIEW

I thought dave was ok at best im glad i was not expecting much because thats what i got an old man who thought he could just walk up on stage and the place would go crazy. Dave seemed to be put off when he realized just standing there like he thought he was a god was not going to do it for this crowd. The sound was subpar forgetting words did not help, oh and what the hell lets bleach the the whole head for the second leg. now if your reading this review and think it harsh, it is. In my opinon if your going to do it, dont waste our time go ahead and remember the words and dont make your lead guitarist tap you on the shoulder every time you need to start singing again. dave was going to play a song with sammy (dreamer) but dave was so dissaponted in the crowd as soon as he was done he took his staff and left. i guess thats all of the classic david lee roth we were going to see. get it together dave and the people will love you, w! e wanted to, you're just not letting us. sammys review loved it, fun show all good songs this is the show and i guess we all new it. my seat 17th row middle.

Thanks to Rob Thompson for this review!

ADDITIONAL REVIEW

One word: AWESOME. This was my third time seeing Sammy (95, 00) and first time seeing Dave. I was amazed at how great of a venue the Gorge is. My Dad and I got there about 3 hours before the concert and saw a bunch of cool t-shirts for sale but they were all $32! It was a great dayÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¢ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Âthe sun was out and it didn't rain at all.

Dave's set list was very similar to what he's been playing the entire tour. I was impressed with Brian Young, he really nailed each song perfectly on guitar. And I thought Dave was going to skip a lot of lyrics and not sing most of them but he did a good job singing most of the lyrics and his voice sounded good. Compared to Sammy, he didn't really have any long breaks between songs. During Everybody Wants Some (I think) someone threw a cigarette onstage and Dave said he did it with that guy's girlfriend before the show. He did his Jack Daniel's routine on a woman in the front row early in the show. Dave had some of his DVD clips up on the screen during some songs. The encore was Jump and the crowd looked like they were having a great time.

Before Sammy came on he had a video intro about his career, which I thought was a cool way to start out. They started out with Red and the place was LOUD. I was hoping to see Michael Anthony jump onstage but when they started playing VH material without him it looked like it wasn't going to happen. It was still a good show, though. Sammy was energetic, singing well, and also kicking ass on guitar. The videos that were on the screen during most of the songs were cool. I don't think Sammy playing Eagles Fly killed any momentum the show had, like others have said. It's what he always does at his concerts, even with VH. He dedicated it to John Entwistle and Mona joined in. Overall Vic played pretty well, Mona's background vocals were good, and I thought the drums sounded louder then they should, but the band still sounded great. Top Of The World and Why Can't This Be Love seemed to get the best crowd reactions. Also the encore, Heavy Metal and Dreams.

Both shows were great and worth the 7-hour drive, but I enjoyed Sammy's more. Dave's band played the songs well but there wasn't much else to his show. But after this concert I think that Sammy and Dave are both capable of fronting VH again. If you can go see this show on the second leg, DO IT. It's well worth it, because we don't know when we're going to see VH soon. Sam and Dave rule!

Thanks to Dan Rosteck for this review!

ADDITIONAL REVIEW

Well worth the drive!

My pals and I made the 10 hour trip from Lethbridge Alberta, Canada to the Gorge to see the closes thing to a Van Halen concert. When the five of us got out of the truck at the Wildhorse campground and heard the VH and Sammy tunes playing we knew this was going to be very cool night.

None of us really knew what to expect from Dave. I think he surprised a few people. All though his best kicks, jumps,costumes and years are behind him, he did sound ok, for Dave. I really don't think Dave had a chance to prove himself. The crowd was yelling for Sammy during Dave's encore, ouch! Sammy was who everyone came to see and I don't think he let anyone down. His energy from start to finish was incredible. I would love to see Sammy back with VH for a tour but the Waboritas are as just tight musically. This was the happiest concert that I've ever been to. Everyone was there to have some fun and that is what DLR and Sammy delievered.

Thanks to all that made our weekend something we'll never forget.

Thanks to Neil Fraser for this review!

ADDITIONAL REVIEW

The Gorge is one of the most beautiful places in the world to see a rock show. Its like a stage on the edge of the Grand Canyon. Now to the show....Well Dave is Dave...great band, they were tight. Dave opened, the way it should be, and he forgot a verse and screwed up a lot of lyrics. I guess thats Dave but you figured he would have his stuff down being that is hasnt toured in a number of years, at least not to the Pacific Northwest. So Dave, like I always thought, is just kind of unprofessional. Yea this is rock and roll but he really didnt seize the moment. Sammy was awesome. I have seen Sammy over a dozen times and its always a blast. Vic and the boys really sound great. What a band! The sercurity sucked and I spent way too much time asking people to get out of my seats. We were on the aisle and people keep filling it up and blocking are view in the 15th row. 2 fights and a really big drunk dude I had to deal with. Why couldnt they fight during Dave's show. I dont like to miss any Sammy.

I wont go on too much here but Sammy was in top form and Dave was Dave, kind of an ass, really. Ok got some Cabo Wabo, its cocktail time. This one is on me Sammy!
Love ya...

Thanks to Tim Taylor for this review!

ADDITIONAL REVIEW

sat the 29 th of June 2002, we found out who is the better front man... the winner is? Sammy! Dave, well ,he was Dave, just not as good. the years have taken there toll on him. The energy he once had is long gone. you think after 20 years he could have come up with some new crowd talk.On the other hand the years have been very good to Sammy. He came out and had the energy you have come to expect from Mr. Hagar. He played a great mix of his classic songs where as Dave only had old HE songs to rely on (played very well by his band)Just to sum it up Dave needs to get a new hair transplant surgeon and as for Sammy lets put him and Eddie in a padded room give them some boxing gloves and put this crap to rest, and put the best rock no roll band back together.

Thanks to Mike Whyte for this review!

ADDITIONAL REVIEW

Dave didn't seem to know that he wasn't playing is Seattle. The Gorge is in the middle of the state. As Sammy put it, about 150 miles from Seattle and about the same from Spokane. Dave couldn't scream like he used to and seemed to forget alot of the words to the songs that made him famous. Maybe it was the booze or, being the last leg of the first part of the tour, his voice was strained. But that is no excuse for not knowing the lyrics. Sammy on the other hand put on a great show. He got the audieunce goiing. He had the energy that i've seen for twenty years. The people were singing and cheering. I think we would have liked to sing with Dave. but he wasn't singing what we were. Sammy saved the show. THANKS SAMMY , AND ALL MY BEST, MORPH

Thanks to Mark Morphy for this review!

ADDITIONAL REVIEW

I have to admit, going into the concert I thought Dave would have the better show. Boy was I wrong. Dave couldn't hit the notes like he used to and he did the same jump spin move about 50 times.

Sammy and his band were on top of their game. The band was tight and Sammy's voice was excellent. The crowd just responded better to the show that Sammy and the Waboritas put on.

I'd have to say that Dave's best days are behind him, while Sammy and the Waboritas will be knocking them dead for years to come!

Encore 1

WHO WENT

2 Redhead Comments

If you guys saw his live then you must have met with the greatest show ever in your travel season. He is a great man that can take the audience in his hands. A guy with special talents for making the audience cheeredbeverly diamonds reviews up.

What a FANTASTIC show at the GORGE!
GEORGE,WASHINGTON has not never been the same again!!

It was fan-fricken-tastic to see David Lee's weak old body be the opening band for SAMMY! (Yes,I know supposedly no openers!) BUT realllly, I saw it with my own eyes ....Grandpa Roth could barely move around! No jumps from the drum stand nothing noteworthy.

Low and Behold next set is My Man SAMMY, Rocking like he was 25 again! Sammy put on the best show singing the songs only like he can.. <3 Full of heart soul and passion for the fans!